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Glen and Mildred Leet of New York NY devoted their retirement years to running their own foreign aid program, "Trickle Up," which provides small but critical grants to desperately poor people in the Third World. Trickle Up grants go to the real roots of poverty, giving hard-working, enterprising people the capital they need to nurture micro businesses.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Mildred and Glen Leet of New York NY devoted their retirement years to running their own foreign aid program, "Trickle Up," which provides small but critical grants to desperately poor people in the Third World. Trickle Up grants go to the real roots of poverty, giving hard-working, enterprising people the capital they need to nurture micro businesses.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Glen and Mildred Leet of New York NY devoted their retirement years to running their own foreign aid program, "Trickle Up," which provides small but critical grants to desperately poor people in the Third World. Trickle Up grants go to the real roots of poverty, giving hard-working, enterprising people the capital they need to nurture micro businesses.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: C (couple) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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William Lehman of Sweetgrass MT, a veteran USDA inspector, severely pressured to pass more Canadian meat shipments, instead pushed to reinstate tighter border controls. Lehman blew the whistle on a new "streamlining" system whereby shippers are notified in advance which meat will be checked; Lehman still finds rotten meat and turns it back, despite physical threats, insults and the stress on his heart condition.
Home when commended: North America, US, Montana Home now: North America, US, Montana Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Leicester Vermont, The People of The people of Leicester VT banded together to help a hardworking refugee family from Mexico avoid deportation and remain in the community. With lobbying, petitions and letters, the citizens rallied in support of their friends and kept them in Leicester.
Home when commended: North America, US, Vermont Home now: North America, US, Vermont Gender: G (group) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Julie Leirich of Beverly Hills CA risked her job as a supermarket checker to intercept good throw-away food and give it to the homeless. Her boss finally okayed her clandestine "recycling," and she expanded to get restaurants, markets and delis to contribute leftovers. Her operation grew to include over 40 volunteers distributing more than 6 1/2 tons of food each month to the homeless.
Home when commended: North America, US, California Home now: North America, US, California Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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When David Lempert was a graduate student and teacher at Stanford and UC Berkeley, he successfully fought serious faculty opposition to teach a course he created called "Unseen America," which included taking students to meet the poorer, struggling populations who might be affected by their future decisions.
Home when commended: North America, US, California Home now: North America, US, Washington DC Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Jeanne Lenzer of Ellenville NY started the National Child Rights Alliance, an "underground railroad" providing shelter for abused children, and working to protect children in the courts. Although her work brought her harassment, physical attack, threats and lawsuits, Lenzer is committed to getting children the legal protection they need.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Emily Letts of Virginia Beach VA was one of five 6th-graders who pushed for stronger legislation to protect children from unsafe toys. They were patronized and ignored by many adults, but they lobbied their legislators, wrote letters to their local papers, and did research at daycare centers. They appeared before the Virginia Assembly and the U.S. Congress as expert witnesses on toy safety, and a bill they initiated requiring hospital emergency rooms to report any toy-related injuries became law in Virginia. (See also Zachary Bradley, Carissa Frasca, Leslie Gregory and J. Kyle Massey.)
Home when commended: North America, US, Virginia Home now: North America, US, Virginia Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Hadassah Levi of Jerusalem, Israel has taken on the care of dozens of babies with Down Syndrome who had been warehoused in hospitals by parents unwilling to raise them. For years she fought cultural and bureaucratic prejudice against these kids, and has championed a more enlightened view of their value.
Home when commended: Asia, Israel Home now: Asia, Israel Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Irwin Levin of New York NY is a social worker who cares more about the fate of children than about preserving his job. Levin blew the whistle on the negligence and incompetence of welfare workers assigned to cases of suspected child abuse after he discovered 11 children had died who could have been saved by his department's intervention. He was fined, suspended, demoted and transferred for going public with the information. Levin was eventually vindicated, and kept fighting for improved social services.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Joseph Levin Jr. of Montgomery AL risked his life and his financial security to co-found and to direct The Southern Poverty Law Center, the program that has taken on the KKK again and again, winning huge civil judgments against the white supremacist organization.
Home when commended: North America, US, Alabama Home now: North America, US, Alabama Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Howard A. Levine of Boston MA was a driving force in the creation of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, Inc. The shelter is open 24 hours a day to provide emergency food, clothing, shelter, counseling on VA benefits, rehab, job training and employment, housing, and referrals for drug and alcohol treatment. The shelter has 50 full-time employees, most of them former clients, and houses more than 150 homeless vets a night. (See also Mark Helberg, Ken Smith & Peace Foxx Jr.)
Home when commended: North America, US, Massachusetts Home now: North America, US, Massachusetts Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Michael Levine of New York NY was once the DEA's hottest undercover agent. In over 25 years of service, his deep-cover operations in South and Central America and in the US put more than 3,000 criminals behind bars. But Levine protested what he saw as the DEA's disregard for its agents' lives and the US government's sabotage of its own war on drugs. He left DEA to write an expose` called Deep Cover.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Marshall Levit of Sugarland, Texas, was just 14 when he started The Garden of Eatin' as part of a scouting project. Rallying community support, Levit helped convert a vacant lot next to his synagogue into five growing beds, producing fresh produce for the food pantry at a Catholic church. As a college student, he still gave his summers to the garden.
Home when commended: North America, US, Texas Home now: North America, US, Texas Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Bill Levitt, for nine terms the mayor of Alta, Utah, has stood up to both threats and lawsuits, determined to allow only environmentally and economically sustainable changes in this pristine area with "the best snow in the west."
Home when commended: North America, US, Utah Home now: North America, US, Utah Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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1 Way 2 Help
FIND GIRAFFES
Please note
We're adding stories and photos to the Giraffe Heroes database everyday. If information isn't visible yet, know that we're working on it.
YOU & THE FOUNDER
From time to time, Ann Medlock, this Project's founder, does a brief but inspiring email called Heads Up. You can check out past copies here. They're so good (and so free) we bet you'll join the Heads Up circle and send them on to friends & family.
For further wit & wisdom from Ann, check out her speeches, radio commentaries and OpEds.